Thursday, October 7, 2010

Gabriel Bracero (12-0, 1 KO) won an eight-round unanimous decision against Terry Buterbaugh (6-4-1, 3 KO's) in the junior welterweight main event. Official scores were 79-71 and 79-72 twice.

Bracero dazed Buterbaugh with a counter left hook in round one. Next, Bracero hammered him with a clean right to the face. Yet, Buterbaugh never took a backward step and pressed the action all night.

In round two, Buterbaugh suffered a small cut under his left eye and a large bruise under his right eye. Bracero used his highly accurate punching, superior ring generalship and stinging left jab to dictate the pace from that point. Bracero also employed many angles to frustrate an aggressive Buterbaugh.

Once Bracero found his range and got in his comfort zone, Buterbaugh could not land enough punches in succession to hurt him. Bracero's left jab was the real key in keeping the Denver, Colorado native off-balanced. The jab allowed Bracero to get his punches off first, while the constant lateral movement around the ring minimized the likelihood of Buterbaugh landing effective combinations.

By the final round, Bracero did absorb some punishment, and was bleeding under both eyes. Buterbaugh continued to charge him, but Bracero was much busier and kept landing the cleaner punches.

HAMER DESTROYS NELSON

In the co-main event, Tor Hamer (12-1, 9 KO's) bounced back from his first professional loss, stopping veteran Terrell Nelson (8-11, 5 KO's) in the first round of a heavyweight battle. Official time of the stoppage was 2:11.

Hamer scored three knockdowns en route to victory. First, Hamer floored Nelson with left uppercut - right hand combination. After that, Hamer sent Nelson into the ropes and onto the canvas when he landed a flush right hand. Finally, another right hand left Nelson on the floor and unable to continue.

Following the bout, Hamer called out Kelvin Price, who defeated him by a six-round split decision in May.

"When a fighter loses before he gets big fights on television, it's hard to get a contract to fight again," claimed Hamer.

Hamer put on a notable performance tonight, and he could get his wish in the near future.

DOUGLIN VICTORIOUS AGAIN

Junior middleweight sensation Denis "Momma's Boy" Douglin (11-0, 7 KO's) stopped Orphius Waite at 2:10 of the first round. Thirty-five seconds into the bout, Douglin hurt Waite terribly with a sharp, straight left hand to the head. Douglin immediately capitalized on his momentum, pummeling Waite until the bout was halted.

"I wanted to attack the body more," said Douglin. "I was head-hunting after I hurt him."

Douglin added, "I'm not the hardest hitter, so I like to work on volume punching. I just want to let my hands go."

MONAGHAN WINS MAJORITY DECISION

Seanie Monaghan (3-0, 2 KO's) defeated Borngod Washington (0-6) by a four-round majority decision in a light heavyweight clash. Official scores were 38-38, 39-37 and a very questionable 40-36 tally.

Washington fought much better than his winless record indicates, as he scored countless times to Monaghan's body and head with his right hand shots. Monaghan used lateral movement and a stinging left jab to keep Washington out of range.

LAMONAKIS, STEVENSON DELIGHT CROWD

Sonya Lamonakis (2-0, 1 KO) won an action-packed, four-round unanimous decision against Alysia Williams-Stevenson (0-1), who was making her professional debut.

Lamonakis, who is a sixth-grade schoolteacher at Harlem's Family Academy, went toe-to-toe with Williams- Stevenson every minute of the bout to the crowd's pleasure, and proved to be the more polished fighter.

First, Lamonakis displayed a great deal of patience by catching and blocking many of Williams-Stevenson's punches on her arms. After Williams-Stevenson concluded unloading her shots, Lamonakis would swiftly counter with mostly rock-solid left hooks to Williams-Stevenson's head. As each round passed, Williams-Stevenson was visibly fatigued from the amount of punches she was unleashing, which enabled Lamonakis to place her shots more efficiently, and land the cleaner, crisper punches.

In the first round, Thomas dropped Pietrantonio with a straight left. Then, Thomas connected with a grazing right hook that floored Pietrantonio again moments later. After that, Thomas, a southpaw, rocked Pietrantonio for a third time with a sweeping right hook toward the end of the round.

Pietrantonio was wobbled yet again in round four from a straight left - right hook combination by Thomas. Pietrantonio, who was clearly outclassed, got floored a final time by a sharp right hook in the sixth round.

MARTINEZ KEEPS PERFECT RECORD

Steven Martinez (6-0, 6 KO's) kept his perfect record intact, knocking Cheyenne Ziegler (3-6-1, 2 KO's) out with a brutal left hook to the body at 1:07 of the 1st round. Ziegler simply could not match the speed and quickness of Martinez, who is managed by New York Giants running back, Brandon Jacobs.

Bujaj, a Bronx, New York native, floored Brown with a right uppercut-overhand right combination in round one. Then, Bujaj scored with a multitude of powerful body shots, although he sustained an abrasion under his left eye during the round.

In round two, Bujaj hurt Brown badly after connecting with a right uppercut. In the final moments, Bujaj stunned Brown with a series of vicious left hooks to the body.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

On Saturday, November 6th, HBO will televise its first fight from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey when Zab "Super" Judah (39-6, 27 KO's) battles Lucas Matthysse (27-0, 25 KO's) in a 12-round, junior welterweight collision. Judah has won three fights in a row and five of his last six. On the other hand, Matthysse is undefeated, and holds four consecutive knockout victories.

On Tuesday, I caught up with Zab while he was training at the H.I.T. Factory Boxing Gym in Las Vegas, Nevada. He seems enormously eager to continue proving that he is the best junior welterweight in the world. Originally, the November 6th date was being held for Tomasz Adamek. When a fight for Adamek could not be scheduled in November, HBO immediately turned their attention to the former undisputed welterweight champion of the world.

"It's great to be the first boxer to fight on HBO at the Prudential Center," Judah exclaimed. "New York and New Jersey is the capital of boxing and we're bringing it back again. I want to thank the Prudential Center for bringing Zab back."

After failing to land a bout with Amir Khan, Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley, Matthysse was willing to step to the plate and fight Judah. As a result, Judah has a high regard for his opponent.

"I have a 100% respect level for Matthysse," stated Judah. "I don't know what he knows about me, but I already studied everything he's doing. He's a young guy trying to pursue a career."

After scoring an impressive 3rd round stoppage against Jose Armando Santa Cruz in July, Judah is not changing his regimen for this fight. Twice a week he runs a combined 11 miles at Mt. Charleston (11,916 ft.), highest of the Spring Mountains in southern Nevada, while continuing to work hard every day in the gym.

"My whole team makes sure I stay sharp," said Judah. "I have the best conditioning, I'm in the best physical shape and the rest is 'God Speed'."

Marshall Enzer, who is Judah's official cutman and handwrapper, has stated that Zab is without a doubt in the best shape of his life.

"All I could do is pray that Matthysse comes out of the fight okay," stated Enzer.

Morris East, trainer and coach for Judah, is grateful to Eddie Mustafa Muhammad for getting the opportunity to work with Judah, and believes he will dominate on November 6.

"I know Zab is going to win this fight," said East. "He'll be champion again."

(Zab Judah lifting weights; Photo Credit: Michael Seiler)

Judah was back in the ring training a week after his victory over Santa Cruz. He was initially supposed to take on Michael Clark on October 2nd until the fight with Matthysse came up.

"We knew we had the October 2nd date, so I was already in great shape," confirmed Judah. "I was 50% ready for November 6. We started sparring last Thursday. Now, I'm coasting and paving the way for myself. I'm ready to go."

(Zab Judah working with Roscoe Spade; Photo Credit: Michael Seiler) ﻿

Roscoe Spade, trainer and friend, believes people are underestimating Judah's skills at this stage in his career due to hearsay.

"Before Mayweather, Alexander and other A-class elite fighters, there was a 28-0 Zab Judah," said Spade. "For Matthysse to take this fight and think he is going to win, he's obviously very mistaken. 'Super' Judah will be coming at him in 3-D."

Matthysse likes to stalk his opponents, striking them with his power shots. However, Judah has seen it all in his 14-year professional career and welcomes the challenge.

"He knocks his opponents out viciously with his come-forward style," declared Judah. "He reminds me of me when I was younger."

Judah added, "But he's getting in the ring with a superb, sharp and skilled veteran.

As for a future bout with Khan, Alexander or Bradley, Judah is not even thinking about them. He is exclusively focused on Matthysse.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

On Wednesday, October 6th, Lou Dibella's "Broadway Boxing" series returns to the famed BB Kings Blues Club in New York's Times Square with an action-packed card.

In the main event, Brooklyn's Gabriel "Tito" Bracero (11-0, 1 KO) faces Terry Buterbaugh (6-3-1, 3 KO's) in an eight-round, junior welterweight showdown. Bracero, 29, scored his first career knockout, a fourth-round TKO, against Raymond Betancourt in his last outing. This fight will mark Bracero's 5th appearance at BB Kings.

22-year-old Mark "TNT" Tucker (14-0, 7 KO's) makes his first visit to the Big Apple in a scheduled eight-round, light heavyweight clash against an opponent to be determined. Tucker, a Maryland native, seeks his first knockout victory in his last six fights.

After suffering his first professional loss (SD 6) against Kelvin Price, Tor Hamer (11-1, 8 KO's), 27, looks to rebound against Terrell Nelson (8-10, 5 KO's), 39, in a heavyweight match-up. Hamer, a former National Golden Gloves Champion, possesses tremendous power in both hands, and owns 5 first-round knockouts.

Light middleweight Steve Martinez (5-0, 5 KO's) seeks his 6th consecutive knockout win against an opponent to be determined in a four-rounder. Martinez, 20, is managed by New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, and is a native of Bronx, New York. In July, Martinez scored a scintillating second-round stoppage versus Jason Thompson in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Martinez won the 2008 National Golden Gloves Championship as a welterweight.

Undefeated cruiserweight Stivens Bujaj (1-0, 1 KO) looks to acquire his 2nd professional win in as many fights in a scheduled four-rounder.

Also, 35-year-old Sonya Lamonakis (1-0, 1 KO), a school teacher during the day, makes her Broadway Boxing debut in a four-round heavyweight bout.

Tickets for Broadway Boxing can be purchased through Dibella Entertainment by calling (212) 947-2577. VIP Ringside tickets are $125, Floor Seat tickets are $75 and General Admission tickets are only $55. Tables for groups of five are also available. For more information, please visit www.dbe1.com

Thursday, September 16, 2010

On Thursday, December 9th, Tomasz "Goral" Adamek (42-1, 27 KO's) returns to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey to face Queens, New York native, Vinny Maddalone (33-6, 24 KO's). The scheduled 12-rounder will be for Adamek's IBF International Heavyweight title.

The bout will be promoted by Main Events, Ziggy Promotions and Star Boxing.

On Saturday, September 18 at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, Five-Time and Three-Division World Champion "Sugar" Shane Mosley and former World Champion Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora will collide on the big screen for “200: Celebrate and Dominate Mosley vs. Mora LIVE in HD”. The event is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and NCM Fathom, broadcast in high definition LIVE from the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles to more than 300 movie theaters nationwide.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

On November 6th at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Zab "Super" Judah (39-6, 27 KO's) will battle Lucas Matthysse (27-0, 25 KO's). The fight will be televised on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" series.

Previously, Judah was scheduled to face Michael Clark on October 2nd.

Judah stated, "Matthysse is a good young fighter with good speed and power. I look forward to making this an exciting fight for all my fans. GOD SPEED - Here we go!"

"We are absolutely thrilled to be bringing HBO to Prudential Center for the first time," said Kathy Duva, Main Events CEO. "When the opportunity arose, everyone involved worked very hard to reschedule Zab's next appearance in Newark to November 6th to coincide with HBO's schedule. Judah-Matthysse will be a spectacular event, and as always, the Prudential Center fans will be treated to another great night of boxing."

Bill Halkias, Super Judah Promotions Vice President, added, "Matthysse will make for an exciting fight. He is a young fighter that possesses decent hand speed and plenty of power. He has never faced an opponent like Zab, who has the fastest hands in boxing, crushing power and a level of experience that only comes from fighting the cream of the crop. This is the type of match-up boxing needs. We have great fans and only want to give them the best possible fights we can offer."